Beginner Guitar Method (Learning Left Handed - Video 1 ... Basic Chords)

[Hi5Gymnast]

I'm left handed! FUCK YEAH!!!

[HeadUpGorgeous]

I would love to learn, I'm a righty but I have a problem with my pinky on my left (it doesn't bend) so I would be limited to certain chords. Would I be better learning to play lefty instead?

[swanner]

@HeadUpGorgeous Definitely!! No point in starting with a major handicap, and very few guitarists actually use the little finger of their picking hand.

[ilovetaylorization]

i'm a lefty growing up and when my parents bought me a guitar i thought that a left- handed guitar player would never exist but i learned that some persons play the guitar with left hand and now i'm convinced in learning how to play a guitar

[nigelbrookes01]

Its so annoying when i hear about people who are left handed, being convinced to play right handed simply for the ease of buying a gutair or playing different gutairs and friends houses etc..., a left handed person invented the gutair as far as i know... the reason there is such a push towards learning right handed is because the majority of people are right handed! and gutair manufacturers make right handed gutairs as standard, if your a lefty your a LEFTY dont change for anyone!!

[swanner]

@nigelbrookes01 I recall a left handed beginner student who was convinced that wanted to learn left handed, but hadn't bought a guitar yet. I taught him right handed for 20 minutes getting him going on a couple of basics. Then I gave him a left handed guitar and asked him to try the same things. He tried for 20 seconds, said it felt too strange and went back to the right handed guitar.

[nigelbrookes01]

@swanner Sure good point, i was more refering to people who have been playing for a while still being told to switch to right handed, i see you point about the student but he was actually wrong in the first place with respect to his "handedness" i fire a gun and play gutair and write left handed, but punch fire a bow and use my right hand for general strenght, thanks for a constructive conversation.. sick of cyber arguements thanks

[swanner]

@nigelbrookes01 Each hand is learning brand new skills. The whole purpose of this video series was to examine how different it is learning "backwards". What I achieved in 6 weeks left handed took me a *lot* longer first time round and right handed .. maybe a year to be as comfortable!

[TheLunar13]

I know how to play at right hand, but an accident happen to my right hand and it broke my pinky finger so now, i can't strum properly. But actually when i first hold of the guitar im holding it upside down...

So now i dont want to stop playing guitar, and i want to learn it with my left hand.

Ist hard to change hand?

pls rply... :/

[Anna50ism]

I'm left handed. When I first touched a guitar I held it wrong. It was upside down (becoz I'm left handed of course). I really love music and I wanted to learn to play to guitar so much. And even tho it was REALLY hard (it was like writing by my other hand) i learned to play it by right hand. BUT I wanna learn it by left hand now. What should I doooo? It's as hard as the first time I learned it. Now it feels wrong to hold it y left hand.

[swanner]

@Anna50ism The whole point of this video series is to show that it makes no difference whether you play left or right handed. Each hand is learning brand new skills, and mentally it's the same challenge. I'd suggest sticking with what you currently have. For me, this was just a test of my teaching method.

[cooluse1]

@Anna50ism simple go to the shop ask ur music master to convert the guitar in to a left handed 1. trust me i play a left handed guitar myself i learned a lit faster

[786baqi]

skip to 1:54

[Harmonix1994]

i currently play right handed for 4 years, only now i decided to learn left?... why not learn both if you want.. make you more Ambidextrous ;) haha

[ilsevdb]

As in my vieuw, there is no way to learn a true left handed guitarist to play right-handed. I can't even hold a guitar properly right handed, There is no way i can play that way. I have a right handed teacher and it doesn't matter, there are a lots of famous left handed guitar players btw: Jimmy hendrix, Kurt Cobain, etc. Don't force yourself to play right handed if you're left handed..

[JaNeLiSsE2]

@barnyboot really? haha I didn't know that!

[JaNeLiSsE2]

uhh.....being left handed is so hard..Many lefties eat with the fork in the right hand and knife in the left but I use them the “correct way” fork in left, knife in right. But being a lefty it’s my left arm that’s moving the most and when I sit next to right handed people we bump elbows. A lot. and then when im trying to write something in pen, i end up smearing it because of my left hand touching the paper, BUT THANK GOD, there was a guitarist named paul mccartney, and he is left handed too

[barnyboot]

@JaNeLiSsE2 also these 3 are lefty Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Doyle Bramhall II

[alex313313]

this is so retarded. im left handed everything and i find it so much easier to learn from a righty

[xninjamasterx1]

I've been playing guitar right-handed for 3 years. Simply because that's what I was advised. You don't have to learn things backwards. It's just a mirror version or right-handed anyway. You can custom order most guitars left-handed too. There's NO reason to play right-handed when you're a lefty

[ainKwang]

can we use right handed guitar if we left handed ? i mean , i just rotate it and play ?

or there are specially guitar for left handed ?

[kakilleh]

I just tried Exactly this today. I'm a born Ambidextrous, I switched hands for writing like 3 or 4 years ago, and I can write and draw freely with either hand, as well as many other things. At school, I learned Afroantillian Drumming the leftie way and I'm quite proficient at it, hence I decided to take this a bit further to the guitar, practice the whole Holidays (this August), I practiced today like 6 hours in a row and I've already developed some basic reflexes :) your vids might help as well

[AbbydG0721]

I'm a lefty but I play the guitar the right handed way!!! I would always turn the guitar the way lefty people play the guitar but then I would remember that I play the right handed way! I think I should change to the lefty way....but now I'm used the righty way! I think something is wrong! LOL :)

[daffri1]

There is no fucking reason that a lefty should learn to play righty . I am a lefty from the day i was born , i write , eat , wash my teeth , and punch with my LEFT . So i play the guitar with my left hand holding the pick , and my right on the fretboard . Is that wrong????

[swanner]

@daffri1 hehe but 99% of the guitars in the world are right handed, so if you want access to them, you need to learn that way. You're learning brand new skills with both hands anyway.

[daffri1]

@swanner What do you mean "if i want to access them" ?? I have guitar lessons with a righty teacher. There is no difference in the way a lefty and a righty learns to play the guitar . I dont  have to learn righty... (Thats what i think at least) .PLease reply

[swanner]

@daffri1 I mean, most other people's guitars are right handed, like at a friend's house. Also, in a guitar shop your choice is greatly limited.

[daffri1]

@swanner Yes i know that....But i learned to play left (cause im a lefty) and i just cant change it now...Just as i cant write with my right....nor a righty can write with his left...

[AwesomePersonxxooxx]

@swanner so you just get it re-strung. thats what i did. im a lefty and have been playing guitar since i was five or six

[barnyboot]

@swanner Just purchased a left hand electric guitar for my daughter who's left handed

I personally think if your left handed you should have a left hand guitar

[w0rdisbond]

@swanner who gives a shtit? only right-handed players seem to think so inside-the-box as you.

im a righty, and i TRIED playing righty for two years, and guess what? its a hundred times more fun to play lefty. i am more successfull as a player playing lefty, sure, the technique takes time to re-learn but the left hand super-activates the right brain, far, far more than it does right handefly.

try it for a month, tell me its not more fun/easier to improvise.

[swanner]

@w0rdisbond ?? As you can see if you watch the video series above I *did* try it for a month and a half. I notice you have no videos up. Why not put something up to show us a "SUPER ACTIVATED RIGHT BRAIN" in action :-)

[w0rdisbond]

@swanner If you want to see that now, search a dude from the 70's called JIMI HENDRIX.

If you want to see mine, in time, i will show the world. and i say that with all the love in my heart. peace

[swanner]

@w0rdisbond Hehe .. ok, but I don't think I'll hold my breath waiting for that ;-)

[w0rdisbond]

@swanner i guess you thought all skills could be aquired in 45 seconds then... keep it up, teach!

[rawmark]

@daffri1 I agree. Learn how to play the correct way for you. Look up southpaw guitars. I can't send you an email or I'd give you the site but there is a web that has all lefty guitars. Pretty easy to find if you search on the name I just gave you. Cheers.

[clairglen1]

@daffri1 im left hnded and play left handed (strumm with my left hand) i played right for a year untill i gto a left coz i didnt know i played left handed when i first got a guitaar so i had to bare with but it was hard untill one day mum came home wiht a present for me nad it was a left handed acoustic cost her £100 and its very nice

[daffri1]

@clairglen1 Yeah thats right dude. When I first got to guitar lessons they asked me "are you left-handed or right-handed " I told i was a lefty and I bought i lefty guitar.... Its hard to play righty when you are a lefty actually

[clairglen1]

@daffri1 ah i tell ya that 1st year i though k this then i thoought you know what im not giving up and now i have a leftie im not doing too bad x

[disneycountryfan7]

@daffri1 im left too!!! i really wanna teach myselft to play and im 19 is it to late to start playing???

[daffri1]

@disneycountryfan7 Νot really dude, never is too late to start anything :) I started when i was 12 with a classical . Play lefty !

[disneycountryfan7]

@daffri1 ive been wanting to play for a LONG time and never DID actually got a guitar!! im planing on getting one prob this month! and im a girl by the way! =)

[daffri1]

@disneycountryfan7 Good for you :)

[booskityluvable]

I play guitar left-handed! But in general, I have no dominant hand, so .. I'm not quite sure how that works.

People have told me to play righty, but I've dropped the guitar 3 times holding it like that. Annndd then some other guy told me to just go lefty.. so I did. It was just natural for me (:

[X619mysterio]

@booskityluvable No dominant hand? You're ambidextrous.

[booskityluvable]

@X619mysterio Mmm, it's a bit complicated. I'm ambidextrous with certain things (Writing, Drawing, and throwing stuff) but then.. I do certain things exclusively with my left, or exclusively with my right. So I guess I'm mix handed!

[mystique1721]

this blog seems like a great idea. I'm also a right-handed guitarist (for 4-5 years), but I have to switch to lefty now due to an issue with holding the pick with my right hand. But may I ask where video of this series is? I skimmed thru your uploaded videos on your main page, but didn't find it...

[canttelthetime]

ive been playing the drums since 1974 and been in many bands, now at the age of 49 im now learning to play guitar, being left handed i got a lefty on ebay, finding it harder to learn than the drums (my fingers hurt!!) but getting there slowly. good video.

[cumulo25]

@Gactivefy I'm the opposite, I'm mostly right handed (left footed though lol) but I have extra coordination in my left, since i can't swing a bat or golf club righty I must do it left. I play righty (advantage in fretting left hand), but I flip it over just for the hell of it, my left hand picking is ok, but the right hand is much harder to fret.

[voiceofthenation14]

We can only get a right handed one, but it's not going to be comfortable for him?

[voiceofthenation14]

My brother's left handed and wanting to get a lefty bass, but we don't have enough money. Tips, please?

[swanner]

@Gactivefy Having done this, I'd say it makes zero difference having the dominant hand on the fretboard. It didn't make fretting notes any easier for me than for the average beginner I see. In addition, when I first learned right handed, it took me 2 years to be comfortable with a pick. Left handed .. a few weeks, as you can see for yourself in this series.

[Openmic78]

@swanner ok I will be starting to learn how to play at age 32..I have a question, I am right but my brain is saying play left.. If this matters I clap with my left hand moving and right hand still.. My left hand feels odd on the fret board, my right more comfortable... so which way should I play? I am buying a fender squire strat 60's vibe this weekend....right handed? left? Help

[swanner]

@Openmic78 My take .. go right handed .. see above discussion.

[ahuxley123]

@swanner  I am going to try my best!

[lampard98jr]

Nice The Beatles Poster in the backround :)

[Shilpi669]

hey hi, i don't quite know much about guitars but am really really interested in learning,but the problem is that my parents got me a guitar that i THINK is right handed and i am a lefty!

so PLEASE will you help me find out if my guitar is right handed or otherwise(please distinguish); because i know i will only be comfortable playing left handed....and if i hav right handed,is there ANY way that i can learn on it left handed only?? coz now we cannot afford another one...please help!!

[sneakylie]

@zteusb yes it is cus im a righty and i do play lefty

[missmusicismilife]

ok im left handed and just learning how to play guitar and my family has a right handed guitar but we cant afford a left handed one. am i still able to us a right handed guitar and play it left handed??

[swanner]

@missmusicismilife I'd recommend learning right handed. I think it makes no difference whatsoever which way round you learn. It's hard work either way :-)

[missmusicismilife]

@swanner ok thanks! :)

[SUPERsaiyan4248]

@swanner if you are born a lefty and you spend so much time playing left it makes it harder for anyone to be able to learn a hole new program of guitar playing. i know what your saying trust me.and ppl can learn rite if they are left but it can take to many years learning well it depends on how long you have ben playing left

[swanner]

@SUPERsaiyan4248 Sure .. there's no benefit in changing if you can already play left handed, but if considering taking up the guitar I'd recommend that left handed people learn to play right handed .. simply because most guitars are right handed.

[shia120]

@missmusicismilife dude trust me, if you are left handed and you dont want to change to right handed, DO NOT USE A RIGHT HANDED GUITAR. the reason being is because you will be used to having the lower string at the bottom when a left handed is really on top. btw, if your hacing money troubles, go on Rondomusic(dot)com and look up guitars, really cheap with great results. hope this helps:)

[iFeelFineGlassOnion]

@missmusicismilife im a lefty leftys rule

[SUPERsaiyan4248]

@missmusicismilife well i am a left handed player to and yes you can. i had to play with a righty for about 2 years untill i traded my psp with my bro for his guitar and i swiched the strings to left so ask you parents or anyone if you can swich the strings or go to house of guitars and they will do you a good deal on a awsome guitar. :)

[Frankprisb]

I feel your pain. my dad bought me  a right handed guitar and when i finally got a teacher he told me i needed a left handed guitar. but i didnt. do what i did. get somebody who knows how to change strings and switch your strings so that the thickest string is at the top and so on till you get to the thinnest string. the only disadvntage is you wont have a pick guard at the bottom, it'll be at the top.

[ZuurstofNL]

Hehehe respect for giving that a go, putting yourself in the shoes of your students, more guitar teachers should do that:D How did it ever work out?

Anyways i'm a lefty that started right handed playing but after 2 years i've decided to switch to left handed to see if it helps with consistancy and speed. I wonder how long it will take before i'm on the same level as playing right handed.

Cheers!

[NervesOfSteel1986]

i have 2 electric guitars one left an one right .. two acoustics one left an one right .. I play left but not well you would think with the amount of money sunk i would know how to play them .. anyways to all lefty guitarists .. pick it up an play something .. they don't expect lefties to correspond to these skills .. i say fuck em !! play it till your fingers bleed

[BowYaPker]

im left handed but never played before; if i chose to learn the right handed way instead of the left handed way would it be harder?

[freewillize]

@BowYaPker Im a lefty and i started out right-handed, but then i changed to left-handed not because i found right-handed playing difficult, but because it felt more comfortable playing lefty. I would advise you to try out both ways and see which one is better 4 u :)

[tylerdude1995]

@freewillize is it possible to swich? because iv been playing righty for a year and im playing left handed for about a week but im bumming myself out. but im doing good but im still not as good as my right so is it possible to swich completly? bad spelling sorry

[freewillize]

@tylerdude1995 Yeah, it's possible but don't force yourself to switch over. If u think that you're learning faster using a lefty guitar, then stick with it, but don't think that you have to. ;)

[tylerdude1995]

@freewillize ya i leard to do it in 1 1/2 weeks

[MrMonomaniacal]

:( i thought this was something to help people learn left hand guitar XD i'm left handed and trying to leran

[vespertinne]

Your wife is a lucky woman. :-)

[xXDemonShredderXx]

@ilive4thesummerset me three

[pmahawasala]

hey, thx pal.... I was looking for a left hand tutorials.... Cuz im left handed.~

[vietprodigy91]

i want to purchase a good guitar suitable for a beginner but a left handed one. any advice mate?

[indy4ever]

@vietprodigy91 although this question was asked a while ago, for future reference: I started on a Yamaha Pacifica, the left handed model is only marginally more expensive and it is a very versatile and solid guitar - great for starting on.

[nishanthlux]

and to think hendrix could play both left and right handed when he was 15!

[paragan]

are u originally left handed or right handed?

[wowthink]

listen..

[avionrecce]

This is interesting. I tried playing my right handed guitar, lefty the other day (without restringing). It was weird!

[mssybrz10]

okay.. i will do that thanks :]

[mssybrz10]

okay.. so i play lefty..but i got a righty guitar for christmas.. im finding it very difficult to play& learning the notes is another problem..cause my hands are kinda small.. do you have any suggestions?

[swanner]

Try using a capo to make the stretches smaller and the strings easier to hold down.

As you improve you can move the capo further towards the headstock until you no longer need it.

Follow the method shown in this series and you'll soon see some fast improvement!

Enjoy.

[Livesavr]

Are you playing a right handed guitar upside down?

[swanner]

No.

[elwin38]

@Livesavr when you play a right handed guitar upside down that means youre reversing the strings. for the really good(or superstar)players, it's mental. basically youre playing a right handed guitar backwards. i know. i'm right handed and i play guitar(acoustic,electris,bass,­etc.) left handed.

[philby37]

A very interesting project, Ive often wondered if learning lefty would make me a better right handed player, I will watch with interest!

[DeluxeGoldTop]

I believe the first guitar ever made was a right handed guitar made by a left handed player. That way his dominate hand would be his fretting hand.

It is actually a good idea to play a lefty guitar if you are right handed for those reasons if you are a beginner.

[cwicker454]

I have always admired your playing.

So, now, I'm off to learn the guitar in eight weeks from this series of posts from you. My reward shall be to purchase the same electric guitar that you currently play, a Blueshawk, if I remember correctly.

[swanner]

Hi .. how are you getting on??